CosmeticSurg blog: Expert insights from Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez

Plastic Surgeons have been harvesting stem cells for years. Your own unwanted fat is loaded with precious adult stem cells. Dr. Rodriguez talks about fat injections and your own fountain of youth.

Fat grafts to the face are a great way to rejuvenate your face. As you age, your dermis thins, and your face will sag.You may lose volume in your cheeks and under your eyes. These areas appear to be hollow or not as defined as they were when you were younger. Additionally, some people have areas of their face lacking volume no matter what their age. Fat grafts will naturally fill those areas to restore your youthful appearance. Additionally, your own adipose fat contains adults stem cells. Adult stem cells have regenerative properties that can increase blood supply to your tissue and skin to make you look younger.

Patients often ask for post operative advice on the web. I think the web is a great information gathering tool, but in the post-operative period, it is not a good place to start. Why is this? Dr. Rodriguez explains why all of his post op patients are given his cell phone number following surgery.

Why do some women get more cleavage with breast augmentation than others? There is a condition called ‘bird chest’ or pectus carinatum, which means that your chest wall is raised at the center. If you are considering breast enlargement, the type of breast implant you choose is important. Watch my video to find out which implant style I recommend for this type of hollow chest.

Fat injections are long lasting if done correctly. That is my position and I stand by it! If you frequent various plastic surgery blogs, there is a big difference in the types of techniques that surgeons are using. Thus, there is a wide variation in their results, so many patients think that fat injections do not last. Fat injections are permanent if the following is done:

1. correct technique of extraction and processing
2. proper post surgical protocol for patient.

Any of you who have been following this blog knows of my interest in adult stem cells derived from fat tissue. Adipose stem cells are an abundant source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC’s), and provide tremendous promise for many types of injury and diseases. For the past 4 years I have been on an amazing journey that has brought me in contact with brilliant scientists all over the world, taught me new skills, and opened a world of wonder in my profession of plastic surgery. Yesterday, together with Jeff Bulte, PhD (Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions) and others from University of Maryland, I was awarded one of the 2013 Maryland stem cell research fund (MSCRF) Grants. Our team will investigate the location, longevity, and fate of labeled adipose stem cells once we have injected them into breast tissue damaged by radiation.

Fat Grafts have a naturally occurring small population of Adipose Stem Cells, and we are currently using them to help heal scars. Adipose tissue can be extracted from unwanted areas of your body, processed to remove the mature and dead cells, and then reinjected as a fat graft. The Adipose Stem Cells in a fat graft help to heal the scar in several ways. First, the stem cells have anti-inflammatory properties that prevent excessive scarring. Second, they help replenish normal cells in the tissue by differentiation or directing other cells in the tissue to multiply. Since the normal population of cells under the skin is fat tissue anyways, the fat graft itself provides most of the tissue that is needed.

A lot of surgeons now are beginning to perform Brazilian butt lifts. Fat grafting is highly technique dependent and some surgeons are having more success than others. Unfortunately most surgeons do not see other surgeon’s work so it is hard for them to compare results. But you can. The information you can get from these questions will help you pick the best surgeon for yourself!